Sound of the Leaf
by PEEK Paulo Engo Ensega Kamunye
Summary: Sasuke's departure along with Orochimaru trapped within has left the ruling of what's left of Orochimaru's nation within the hands of Yakushi Kabuto. His drastic changes lead him to seek out his able prisoners in order to allow his plans to take place.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Naruto or anything made by Kishimoto (I think that's right). Other than that, original characters, some location names and plenty of Jutsu are my own making. Do not copy or steal those. Enjoy

TO THE LEAF

* * *

Cough, cough, cough 

"Setsuai Rinori."

"Hey, Ponytail, cover your mouth if your gonna cough. You wouldn't want something to end up in there." The male who spoke last arose from his cot, walking up to the bars that contained him. He stopped short of them, slipping his hands into the pockets of his raggedy pants before giving a proud smile to the one whom he referred to as 'Ponytail'.

"You haven't spoken in a long time, Rinori-kun." Ponytail said with a smile of his own as he folded his arms. Although he wasn't much larger than Rinori, the demeaning smile coupled with his assured stance made Ponytail seem somewhat imposing. Especially considering the fact that the little bit of light present around him made his glasses reflect, leaving nothing for Rinori to read other than the smile.

"Why the hell are you smiling so much, Four-eyes? Did the snake bring you a little present? Six more bodies in your lab for you to run te-" Rinori was ready to continue, but 'Four-eyes' raised a hand, standing sideways to Rinori as he adjusted his glasses with his free hand. The tense silence continued on for several seconds more before Ponytail decided to speak.

"Rinori-kun, is that the way you speak to your leader?" He asked as he touched the tags that if removed would have freed Rinori from his cell. Rinori had to suppress the urge to snap at the man on the other side of the bars due to the fact that he could have freed him right there and then. But, Ponytail withdrew his hands. "And here I thought I was treating you nicely with this visit." The man then shrugged with false defeat as he slowly looked into the cell containing the blazing orange haired male before turning to the side and beginning his walk away from the cell. This left Rinori stunned for a moment.

_Wait a minute…that bastard's slier than Orochimaru could ever hope to be. Son of a bitch has to have a reason to be here!_ The thought wasn't much of an epiphany but more of a realization of something he already knew. It just needed the last tip of Ponytail's ponytail to be out of sight for Rinori to realize.

"Hey!" Rinori's hand shot through the bars that contained him. Ponytail halted, turning around with a pleased smile as Rinori was sent backwards, full force after receiving a shock. His body struck the far wall of his cell, cracking the cement structure before the male's body slumped down to the floor in a daze.

"You would do well to remember what happens to those contained who stick their hands out where they should not be. A nasty little charge always awaits." Four-eyes adjusted his glasses once more before he swiftly turned away, deciding to continue on with his direction.

"Kabuto you bastard! Come back here!" Rinori found his voice to be louder in his head than it was as a voice, regardless it helped in making him forget the pain he felt after being dealt the charge. He arose from the ground wobbling over to the cell bars. He stopped in front of them, moving over to see if he could catch sight of the one he called Kabuto. "I wasn't done talking to you!" His voice reverberated throughout the halls and cells, passing into Kabuto's ear. The man was almost out but surely he'd stop to give Rinori an answer.

"That's unfortunate, Rinori-kun. You didn't favour my presence and so, I am done talking to you." With that said, Kabuto could no longer be heard as a solid metal door slammed behind him, stating his exit. Rinori growled more than a couple of profanities under his breath as he pulled back from the bars, feeling as if his chance at freedom had just escaped him. He looked at himself, noticing that his body was still smouldering from the charge and that his shirt had gotten toasted to the point where it was only covering his back and held up by tattered sleeves.

"Son of a bitch…" The orange haired male muttered these words as he sat down on his cot, looking up at the ceiling that had another inmate above. With his unsettled feelings within, Rinori got up onto his cot, and pounded the ceiling. The strikes were fairly strong for someone who lacked chakra thanks to the tags surrounding his bars, and as a result, Rinori had bits of dirt falling into his eyes; that did not stop him though, as he continued to strike the ceiling twelve more times. He waited patiently, for any side of stomping but received none. "Shit Nu-kun. Answer back." Rinori thought a loud as he attempted to communicate with the one he referred to as Nu-kun once more. "Nothing…" Realizing that his partner may have been taken away for testing or any other plans Orochimaru or Kabuto had in mind, he decided to apply his communication technique to the ground below. Not even a minute passed after he spoke of danger with his feet, that he received the same thirteen hits from below. It was confirmed; something unusual was going on around them, but they had no clue what.

"Hello, gentlemen. Aojirotora-kun, Nukarukuma-kun." Kabuto sat at a lavishly appointed chair that stood at one end of an oval table. He had with him a glass of what looked like blood, but the ones he spoke to knew otherwise. Aojirotora walked in lead, taking Kabuto's outstretched hand as an offer to have a seat. Nukarukuma adjusted his jail cell shirt before taking up Kabuto's offer to sit, choosing to sit himself closer to Aojirotora on the sides rather than get any close to Kabuto. "No need to sit so far away. I don't bite." Kabuto said kindly, causing the ones he spoke to, to look at each other.

"Where the hell is the one that does bite?" Nukarukuma spoke up, paying no mind to the fact that Kabuto was as close to Orochimaru as anyone got. In fact, Nukarukuma didn't seem to care about the fact that Kabuto was, in a sense, Orochimaru himself, in the way that the former Leaf Genin performed most of Orochimaru's tasks, and fed him all the information that he came across.

"Yes, where is Orochimaru?" Aojirotora added as he adjusted the blindfold he wore. A frown settle upon Kabuto's face as he heard the constant request for Orochimaru's whereabouts. He sat up, looking at both males before smiling.

"Don't worry about Orochimaru-sama. He's still around. But, right now, I would like you two to take these." From underneath his seat, Kabuto pulled out two head protectors. They were thrown into the air haphazardly, but both Nukarukuma and Aojirotora managed to grab them easily, as the metal pieces came close to passing over their heads.

"Sound-nin…"

"The same bastards who locked us up for no reason want us to be their ninjas. On a scale of 9 to 10, how bullshit do you think we think this is?" Nukarukuma asked, throwing the metal and cloth piece onto the table in front of him. Kabuto saw this, shaking his head with disappointment as Nukarukuma folded his arms against the proposition.

"Nukarukuma-kun, by all means, I will have you and your teammates work as the greatest of ninjas. I wouldn't want to have to force you into this. But if I must, I will." Kabuto said, just as the light reflected off of his glasses. Nukarukuma looked at him, his pale blue eyes matching Kabuto's reflective gaze in coldness. Kabuto broke his stare first as he pulled away from his seat to walk towards what looked like another exist. Upon opening the door, it was revealed that the door led only to another room. "Please, this way. Your attire is waiting." Kabuto said this patiently, coming off as more kind than cold. Aojirotora looked at Nukarukuma momentarily.

"Ao-kun, you serious? You want to go?" Nukarukuma easily read Aojirotora's mind as the blindfolded male tied the headband over his blindfold and got up. Nukarukuma followed his friend with his eyes, as Aojirotora walked towards Kabuto.

"Nukarukuma-kun. We started out as ninjas, became projects, and then prisoners. It is time we returned to being ninjas." Aojirotora's words struck a chord in Nukarukuma who managed to shatter the table he sat at, before tying the head protector on and heading towards the second room.

"Do not worry, Nukarukuma-kun." Kabuto said as Nukarukuma walked by him. The one with glasses only received a snort as a response. He shut the door behind himself before centring himself in the room.

"So why the hell are we in here for?" Nukarukuma was first to speak out, but not to Kabuto's surprise. The male stepped on a stone that sat in the centre of the room, causing gears to grind as the walls opened up.

"So much equipment…" Aojirotora noted as the opened walls revealed weapons, armor and other useful shinobi equipment.

"We are a Hidden Village…one that has yet to have any battles since the attack on Konoha, so we've stacked up on our equipment rather quickly and I've decided it is time to use some of it. You might want to be quick about picking your items because you two must retrieve both Kaguya Kurohone and Setsuai Rinori." Kabuto stated as he walked out of the room to give his two new acquisitions the time to prepare.

"I see…" Aojirotora said to himself as he found some clothing to wear. He stuck to a kimono that was tied at the waist with a broad waistband as well as hakama pants that were wrapped from the knee to the ankle by a brown leather shin guard.

"What did you figure out?" Nukarukuma asked, fitting himself into a high and wide collar blue vest that sat over top of his black tee shirt. His lower half was covered by black sweat pants that were scrunched up at the base of his knees to allow for black shin guards that were like Aojirotora's. Looked to his choices for bags as he let Aojirotora consider whether or not Nukarukuma was ready to hear what he had to say.

"Isn't it obvious?" Aojirotora asked as Nukarukuma settled upon a double strap backpack. He watched as his dark friend stuffed shuriken, kunai, explosive tags, wire, makibishi, and hyourougan all at once.

"Don't try that bullshit on me. Tell me what you've figured out." Nukarukuma said as he put the backpack on, jumping a couple of times to see just how heavy it was on him. He seemed satisfied by its weight since he moved on, grabbing arm guards, which were placed on bandage wrapped fore arms, coming short of the metal-backed fingerless gloves.

"The obvious fact is that Orochimaru is gone." Aojirotora said as he watch Nukarukuma grab a couple of kodachi, putting one horizontally between his lower back and his backpack and the other was placed diagonally, peering over his right shoulder. He looked to Aojirotora, seeming rather pleased.

"And the other, less obvious fact is?" Nukarukuma asked, as Aojirotora kept his weapon choice simple. Shuriken, kunai and wires were all he took before both of them headed towards the exit of the weapon filled room.

"Kabuto's intentions…despite his appearances, I believe they are somewhat good." Aojirotora's unsure comment was met with laughter from Nukarukuma who wasn't one, like many others, who believed Kabuto had good intentions.

"You're fucked." The abrupt and blunt return forced Aojirotora to pause, as he looked at Nukarukuma's back. "You need to take that damn thing off your eyes because it is clouding your judgment, man. Since when did Kabuto have good intentions?" Nukarukuma continued to walk, speaking his mind, oblivious to the fact that Aojirotora had stopped walking.

"No, Nukarukuma-kun…I am serious. My judgment hasn't failed me. Kabuto's intentions are for the better, it is just that it is difficult for us to see, and that I don't know what exactly those intentions are." Aojirotora reassured himself before continuing to walk, catching up with Nukarukuma rather quickly as they found a rather unexpected short cut to the jail cells.

"If that's what you see, fine. But, let's not start talking shit like that out loud." Nukarukuma stated as they found themselves walking down several levels before reaching the one that had Setsuai Rinori listed as one of the floor residents.

"Agreed. I do not feel like listening to Rin-chan's angered disbelief about what I believe and know to be true." Aojirotora said as he walked slightly behind Nukarukuma. The darkly dressed and well-equipped male easily pulled off all of the tags that held Rinori prisoner before opening it up.

"Ay, Rinori, get up." Nukarukuma ordered from the bars. He received nothing in response, prompting him to trudge into the cell, feeling its spell having an effect on his walking.

"Cretin, this is not the time to sleep. We still need to retrieve Kurohone." Aojirotora remained outside of the cell, calling to Rinori as Nukarukuma went into deal with him personally. If there was anyone within their group that could make the normally cool Nukarukuma burn with annoyance and anger, it was Rinori.

"Ay, man, I called to you. Get your ass up!" Nukarukuma didn't hesitate to launch a fist towards Rinori's uncovered face. However, the cheap shot never met its target as Rinori's hand shot up, surprising both Aojirotora and Nukarukuma. The orange haired male held onto Nukarukuma's once approaching fist rather easily, sitting up and scratching his head.

"Hey Nu-chan. Thought you could pull a fast one on me, huh?" Rinori kept his grip on Nukarukuma as he remained seated on the cot. "Just remember, fire owns ic-"

"Shut up and move!" Rinori had no chance of finishing off his half of the conversation, feeling Nukarukuma's annoyance on full tilt as the male freed his hands rather easily to grab hold of Rinori's exposed wrist and pulling him up with all the strength of a bear.

"Whoa-!" Rinori couldn't help but lose balance after being forced to his ill-prepared feet. The inevitable was his body finding its way to the wall opposite his cot.

"Shit! Braids, I was just playing!" Rinori countered as he slowly arose from the ground, rubbing more than just his hurt shoulder. "So damn vio- hey, Ao-chan is here." Rinori said, forgetting about the damage dealt by Nukarukuma and exiting the cell. He was rather cautious about it, not wanting to relive the shock he received the last time he was absent minded about the bars.

"Would you quit admiring the metal work and get moving. We still need to re-"

"You sang that song already, Blindy. Take up a new song." Rinori said waving Aojirotora off as Nukarukuma exited the cell. Aojirotora had not taken the interruption well, more so than the name he received and it showed as he came closer to Rinori.

Listen, Rin-baka. If you wish to be in pieces, by all means, let me know. I will not hesitate to grant you that wish, because I'd be more than happy to break you. And, in case you have forgotten, I see perfectly fine. You would know that if your small brain had any knowledge of my family. Other than that, let's go." Aojirotora finalized his speech with a poke to Rinori's chest, which the orange haired teenager didn't appreciate.

'Hey, Blindy, what family would that be?" Rinori asked with a semi-rough slap on the back. Nukarukuma came in behind them, shaking his head in disapproval of what Aojirotora said.

"The same one he doesn't want us to associate him with. Jackass."

"Nu-chan, who you calling a jackass?" Rinori asked as they quickly found their way to the staircase. They didn't have to check the prisoner lists beside the doors to know where their last partner was.

"Both of you retards." Nukarukuma stated as he continued on past the stopped Aojirotora and Rinori. The orange haired male looked to the silken black haired male beside him, fully ignoring the insult that had been handed to him and the one he stood next to.

"You never really told me what family you came from. I thought we were buddies, Ao-chan." Despite the way in which he referred to Aojirotora, it was well known that the group of four had been long time friends ever since they met up in Otogakure.

"Hyuuga." Aojirotora sighed, not wanting to have Rinori pester him about it at a less opportune moment.

"Hey, that's your family? They're in the Le-"

"I know where they are Rinori. Let's just continue with getting Kurohone so that we can move on with this mission." Aojirotora said as he quickly followed after Nukarukuma who was already freeing Kurohone.

"Hey, mission?! Is that where you got the clothes and the rest of your gear?" Rinori asked, jumping down an entire flight of stairs to get back behind Aojirotora who was then walking through the door to find more people than he expected to find on the level.

"Hey…" Rinori managed to whisper to himself as he looked at Kabuto, Nukarukuma, Kurohone and four others he had never met before. He approached them hesitantly, unsure of whether the gathering was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Well, hurry up Rinori-chan." Kabuto's statement forced Rinori to realize that he remained alone, not far from the door as everyone else had began to walk towards the opposite end of the staircase Rinori and Aojirotora came from.

"Don't call me that crap." Rinori growled as he joined with the group as the headed into an elevator. "Since when did this dungeon have an elevator? I've only seen the stairs used." The male noted as he entered the elevator, which was fully capable of holding double the amount of people currently on it. Rinori's hands noted unfamiliar writings upon the walls of the machine, causing Nukarukuma to give him cut eye. "What?"

"Forget about the elevator, idiot. We have more important things to deal with now." A female ninja said as she pushed aside an orange streak within her brown hair. Rinori could easily tell that she was most likely of equal age however; her behaviour was that of someone older, someone who could be considered more mature. It was a poorly made pretence that the male caught but wouldn't be able to say it in such a way. He chose to ignore her, focussing instead on the other present female.

"…" Her silver eyes were as blank as Rinori's recollection of Aojirotora's own eyes. This stirred up the unguided curiosity that followed his next choice of words.

"Are you from the Hyuuga?" The orange-haired male asked with all the sincerity of a young child but his question went verbally unanswered. The one he spoke to frowned before turning away slowly to place her focus elsewhere. "Hey, I'm ta-"

"Enough." Kabuto kept Rinori from continuing his nonsensical conversation as they arrived on the proper floor. He also managed keeping Aojirotora from jumping the talkative male out of sheer annoyance.

Kabuto led the group from the elevator doors into a room that Nukarukuma and Aojirotora were familiar with. The Hyuuga and the dark one were quick to take up the seats they had occupied on their first visit to the room. This left the older ninjas to stand at each side of Kabuto who was seated at his more luxurious chair at the end of the oval table. Both females sat close to Kabuto, one on either side of him while Kurohone and Rinori chose to sit across from Aojirotora and Nukarukuma.

"Kabuto-sama, are you sure you wish to go through with this?" the ninja on Kabuto's right broke the silence as quietly as he could, putting Kabuto's intentions in question. Aojirotora had noticed that the man was somewhat unsure of something himself but what it was had remained an unknown.

The Hyuuga had been evaluating the newest members of Kabuto's posse and hand come to the conclusion that even though these two older male ninjas who were stand wore the Sound soldier attire, their abilities hovered around those of a Jounin. More importantly, however, were the two females that sat closest to Kabuto. After stealing several glances at both of them behind is eye covering, Aojirotora came to a conclusion that had been decided the moment he began to evaluate them. They were low level Chuunin. They didn't have the composure of the other two or the "ill-prepared air" about them like a Genin had; they also seemed to lack the "readability" of a Genin ruling out that level completely.

"Welcome." Kabuto pulled the individuals away from their thoughts with a softly spoken introduction. The man chose to ignore the ninja on his right in a display of pure confidence within his planning. It led Aojirotora to realize that the confidence Kabuto had shown since he released them was not a show of bravado. The Jounin at his either side of him were nothing to the centre-seated ninja. However, he was, by no means at the level of Orochimaru; instead his power lay somewhere below that. "I will be quick about this because we must move quickly." Kabuto began.

"Move fast to where?" Rinori didn't care about how uncalled for his interruption was; the desire to know where he was going after just being freed was most important to him. He dreaded the idea of simply being moved out of his confined prison cell only to find out that he was going to be moved into another one of Orochimaru's hideouts within the Rice Country where he would be prisoner once again. The fact that everyone except himself and Kurohone made him worry a lot that he should have.

"Let me finish and you will find out." Kabuto snarled. He had expected Rinori to speak out, but even knowing it would happen beforehand didn't change his reaction. The small withdrawal that Kabuto caught Kurohone making didn't sit well with him after he snapped. Kurohone was a recreated Kaguya all off his own making. With the fatal disease absent as well as the psychotic desire to fight, Kurohone was as docile and shy as they came. But, he was loyal through and through. Of all of his subjects, Kabuto liked Kurohone the most. He had choices too; everyone at the table had been a subject of his at some point in time, but none came out as Kurohone did, especially when comparing Kurohone to Rinori. "Kurohone-kun, make sure Rinori doesn't have another outburst while I speak." Kabuto ordered, causing the hunched over Kurohone to sit upright, looking at Kabuto with a gaze that only moments ago would have been unbelievable on him.

"Yes, Kabuto-sama." No one in the room could simply dismiss the saluted and honourable response the Kaguya gave Kabuto. It replayed within all their minds like an echo from hell. Nukarukuma cringed at the sound as he looked at his friend, shaking his head slightly in disappointment. The look Nukarukuma received seemed to be that of a blossoming child, still wrapped in pleasing his parents.

"He needs to fight…" Nukarukuma muttered under his breath. Aojirotora was the only one who caught the quiet words and below his nose, a half-smile formed on the side opposite Kabuto so that only those across from him and to his right, could catch the expression.

"Thank you, Kurohone-kun." Kabuto said with pleasure. He seemed to relax almost instantly, as if he had been injected with drugs. Clearly, if Rinori was the pain, Kurohone was the needed painkiller.

A nod from Kurohone confirmed that it was time to proceed with the brief discussion.

"I will start with something that takes precedence over all other information." Kabuto's tone had changed, becoming more rigid and direct in sound. Everyone else understood that this had to have been something big. "I may have told some of you that Orochimaru has gone away somewhere, or something to that effect. As I'm sure most of you have figured out, that was a lie. Orochimaru is no longer with us, and may never return." He stopped there, looking each person in the eye; Aojirotora may have had his eyes covered, but Kabuto is skilled. The man was able to look at the centre of Aojirotora's eyes simply by looking at his facial features and proportions. It required no facial recollection for Kabuto to have his eyes look into Aojirotora's. "As many of you know, Sasuke had been Orochimaru's latest, and most likely, his greatest subject. However, a few weeks ago the young Uchiha decided to oust Orochimaru at our leader's most feeble of moments. Orochimaru found it an opportune chance to take over Sasuke-kun's body but that did not work out. As I saw it, Sasuke-kun suppressed Orochimaru's Jutsu, and as a result, suppressed Orochimaru, leaving him as nothing more than a soul trapped within Sasuke. Then he left." Kabuto said. His eyes travelled over to Rinori who was beginning to open his mouth, but as one of Kurohone's ribcage bones shot out, coming right in front of Rinori's chest, causing the male to suddenly slam his mouth shut and look straight ahead. Nukarukuma met Rinori's stone-faced gaze, giving a mocking smirk at the orange-haired teenager for his weakness.

"Grow a backbone." Nukarukuma stated, causing the girls to snicker at Rinori's expense. The male could only glare back knowing that any verbal return was likely to irritate Kabuto, and if Kabuto were irritated, Kurohone would address it appropriately.

"With Orochimaru effectively pulled out of existence, I have taken over as leader." Kabuto continued, He clasped his hands on the table, resting them just ahead of his chin after leaning forward. The rest of the group took this as a sign that they were approaching the more interesting aspect of the conversation. "With me as leader, I've been finding it difficult to go through with Orochimaru's shady plans without him at the present, thanks to his criminal status within most of the countries around us. So, I've decided to take another route." He let that sink in within everyone's mind, knowing that those who weren't in the know where making the best conclusions they could. Kabuto considered who would like figure out what his decision was but found that it wasn't fair to guess. Only one person was likely to figure out, given the few words that he had spoken. "I'm sure you've gotten some idea as to where this is heading, Aojirotora-kun." The blindfolded male had been looking at the edge of the table in front of Kurohone who was across from him, taking in only words. He slowly raised his head up to 'look' at Kabuto. A simple nod was all he gave, leaving the talking to Kabuto who smiled in return.

"Going to the Leaf…" Nukarukuma muttered. He too was looking at the table, but didn't bother raising his head when he spoke out what he considered to be the plan. Kabuto looked at him, raising an eyebrow out of pure surprise. Everyone else, not counting the Jounin, looked at Nukarukuma and then Kabuto in confusion knowing that they were pretty much all criminals in the eyes of Konoha.

"Well, Nukarukuma-kun. Your insight is rather intriguing. Yes, my plan is to not simply 'go to the Leaf". But it has a lot to do with our trip to that nation." Kabuto pulled back in his chair as if to relax after a tense debate. "Without Orochimaru-sama present, I'm unable to obtain the many subjects that I would like in order to advance my studies and such. So, I decided to forget about Orochimaru's plans, as well as the ones that I had that coincided with his own. Taking that route would be stupidly ineffective since the power of this nation left with Orochimaru. We will take a little journey to Konoha where we will meet the Hokage and further discuss what is to happen to our nation of Sound." Kabuto then got up, the Jounin standing to attention as he walked away from his throne-like seat to stop at the door. "Gather whatever items you may want to take with you because we are all leaving within the hour. We are expected within three days so do not delay. If we don't make it in time, the Hokage will not hesitate to take that as a sign of us plotting and have us annihilated." Kabuto then disappeared in a cloud of leaves along with his Jounin-level guards.

"Fuck."

"Why are you cussing for?" Nukarukuma had to strain his neck to look at Rinori who was the first to get up, standing inside the room where he had gotten his items along with Aojirotora.

"There's just so much shit that I don't know what I want." Rinori said as Kurohone stood beside him, dressed almost exactly as Sasuke dressed except for the massive rope, which had been replaced by a deep blue waistband. "Hey, Bones, get some weapons." Rinori said plainly as he looked at his slightly shorter friend. The grey haired male looked at Rinori, shaking his head.

"I-I don't need them. I'm a weapon…" he said, sounding as small as a mouse. Rinori shuddered, understanding the various weapons Kurohone could summon. Sliding away he took up all the weapons Nukarukuma had minus the swords, noting that he wouldn't need them.

"I rarely agree with him but, Nukarukuma-kun, do you really need those swords?" the blindfolded male had wanted to ask earlier but held an amount of respect for Nukarukuma and his decisions, thinking the dark male would find a use for the weapons. But, since Rinori, a male who'd find use for the useless said it was a questionable decision in his own way, Aojirotora had to evaluate his own decision of letting it go.

"Both of you need to mind your own." Nukarukuma got up, testing the weight of his backpack once more before heading towards the exit. He would have made it their comfortably, if it weren't for his swords, which flew away from him along with their sheathes.

"I don't think this is the time to have these weapons with you." Everyone looked at the girl with orange streaks in her hair with a little more than surprise.

_What? If that was speed, I didn't even catch her moving from Nukarukuma's back to the seat._ Aojirotora was the first to manage a thought appropriate to the situation.

"Bitch." Nukarukuma didn't wait for any thought to come to him, taking up an impulsive mindset that resulted in him pulling a kunai from his backpack and launching it at the girl.

* * *

And that'll do for now. I've never made a chapter this excruciatingly long but, hey, I wanted to get this all done in the beginning. Next chapter, I continue from where I left off. Don't hesitate to read and review. Peace

NAMES:

Hyuuga (unknown to me, look it up) Aojirotora (white and blue tiger)

Shimoboon (Frost Born) Nukarukuma (Slushy Bear)

Kaguya (unknown…) Kurohone (Blackbone)

Setsuai (Deep love) Rinori (companion weave)


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Naruto or anything made by Kishimoto (I think that's right). Other than that, original characters, some location names and plenty of Jutsu are my own making. Do not copy or steal those. Enjoy

PERFECTED APPEARANCE

"You're going to have to do better than that if you hope to do any damage to me, Nu-chan." The girl said as she caught the rather quick moving kunai within her hands. She examined the weapon, and in the process gave Nukarukuma a chance to see that she was uninjured by the reckless move. She threw the weapon back at Nukarukuma who stood in place, grabbing the weapon out of the air himself, however, he had small scratches in his gloves to show where the weapons blade made its mark. There was an urge within him to leave his location to directly attack the girl but he forced himself into suppressing it, especially after seeing what she had done. There was no doubt in his mind that they were on equal levels, but the fact that she was able to pick the approaching weapon out of the air meant there was something more to the girl than he could figure out presently.

"So, you're holding back." Nukarukuma said, beginning to walk towards the seated girl. She didn't flinch as he made his approach, having all the confidence in the world as she sat, smiling as if she had already won a battle. Nukarukuma didn't like the look she had on her face. It had an air of arrogance and superiority to it that he'd seen on only one face before. "You look as stupid as Sasuke when you smile like that." The male spoke with a hint of disgust, not really intending to insult the girl in hopes that such a statement could bring about change. It was an optimistic hope and very likely that one would take to it since many of the people had been ill affected by Sasuke's appearance, more so than anyone else that Orochimaru had brought as a future vessel.

"If I look stupid then you are stupid." The girl returned, maintaining her smile and composure but failing to sustain her mature outlook. From that point, Nukarukuma forgot about doing anything to her, seeing as to how she couldn't even keep up with herself. There was no way she'd keep up with him he figured.

"You're so damn fake, Streaks! Get some real orange hair!" Rinori broke through the tense vibes that had been in the air since the girl took Nukarukuma's swords. His methods, though primitive, were unbelievably effective as the girl's face turned from pleased to peeved. She shot out from her seat, running along the table, before leaping from it to tackle Rinori. Because of his less than professional behaviour, Rinori surprised her by sidestepping her tackle and grabbing her by the collar of her Sound soldier uniform before she could hit the ground. "This is real orange hair!" Rinori raised her body enough, shoving his forehead into her face, showing her that the roots of his wild orange hair were also orange. She drew a frown before using her free hands to grab hold of Rinori's hair and start yanking it.

"Don't call me Streaks again! The orange in my hair is natural too! Stupid asshole! Go learn some manners!" She went into an unexpectedly violent rage on Rinori, grabbing, punching and stomping the surprised male to everyone else's amusement. Nukarukuma didn't even have the heart to complain about his taken swords as the girl provided him with greater entertainment than he could have ever imagined.

"Don't forget to stomp his face." Nukarukuma said as the girl then began to do as was suggested. It seemed to have lasted forever to Rinori but less than a minute after it began, the girl was breathing hard after pummelling the male.

"I do believe that was a good display of speed, strength and skill." Aojirotora began, turning his head to the other girl. She was shaking her head with a smile directed at the 'attacking girl'. "Would you like to show us your skills? Our practice dummy looks as if he is up and ready for more." The blindfolded male added as Rinori got up. The orange haired ninja was all beaten, but not so much that he couldn't move.

"Shut up Ao-baka!" Rinori lunged at Aojirotora, who didn't even turn to raise his hand and catch the punch. Rinori was very familiar with Aojirotora's abilities and knew the male would catch his punch. "I got hit enough for today." The male growled as he pulled his fist back. Aojirotora let the limb go without a fuss as all the males turned to the females.

"We are all well acquainted with each other," the Hyuuga began, "care to tell us who you two are?" The girl that had attacked Rinori looked at Aojirotora as if she was trying to figure something out. Without a doubt, she was unsure of how Aojirotora was able to grab Rinori's hand so skilfully, especially since he was blindfolded.

"You shouldn't ask for a name unless you've given yours." The girl returned, feeling that she found a way behind her confusion. Aojirotora gave a half smile at her response.

"If that's the way you ask questions about abilities, you have lucked out since who I am has a lot to do with what I can do." The Hyuuga raised a hand to point at his blindfold, causing the girl to give a weak smile after being discovered. She didn't understand how he was able to do it, but it was her luck. She would find out any moment now. "My name is Hyuuga Aojirotora."

_A Hyuuga outside of Konoha…_ her thought was brief since she knew what it meant to be a Hyuuga. Only the most ignorant of the ignorant had no knowledge of what the family name 'Hyuuga' meant.

"I am Kakkouii Kibanhana." Upon stating her name she turned to Nukarukuma. "You may like useless things, and therefore be useless yourself, but I still would like to know your name." She said with a smile as tender as that of a lovely woman. It was clear to Nukarukuma, from that moment that he would not like this girl very much. She was literally drenched in bull's-eyes to Nukarukuma who was ready to hit them.

"The only skill you displayed so far was beating Rinori-kun to the ground. Anyone here can do that." Nukarukuma countered. Rinori shot a demonic glare at Nukarukuma for his abuse of Rinori's name. The male was beginning to be a target of cheap shots and it didn't take physical contact for him to get hit.

"Screw off." He said coldly.

"Don't target the weak to make up for your short comings." Kibanhana returned. She remained standing, looking as delightful as she could as Nukarukuma looked away from her, to the other girl who was there with them. The dark male walked past Kibanhana to walk the length of the table until he reached the seat across from the other present female. The girl had kept an eye on Nukarukuma as he approached, and the moment he sat down, a more genuine smile was present on her face. Nukarukuma found it far more pleasing to look at as he leaned forward.

"Ay. Shimoboon Nukarukuma. You are?" he made sure to say this in a low tone so that Kibanhana wouldn't hear him. The silent girl remained smiling as she leaned forward to give her response.

"Mugoireppuu Akataka." The girl said pleasantly. Her soft voice was very unusual due to the strength it held, never wavering in tone. It caused Nukarukuma to give a half-smile, if only slightly, in response. "Kibanhana-chan is going to get mad because you ignored her." Akataka noted as she pulled back, eyes turning towards Kibanhana. Her words were literally timed to match Kibanhana's approach as she came with a fist to begin tightly clenched fist and slowly beginning to freeze it as he held onto it.

"I'm guessing this is how you greet people." Nukarukuma said plainly as he turned to Kibanhana. The girl was wide-eyed as she pulled back her stiff hand. "I don't like it as much as he does." He added, knowing that it was understood whom 'he' referred to. Rinori growled some insults but they didn't reach the ears they were directed to.

"What the hell is this?" Kibanhana asked as she circulated as much chakra as she could within her still hand. Eventually movement was restored to it as she decided not to attempt another punch at Nukarukuma.

"Everyone, I think it would be wise to familiarize ourselves with each other's abilities. It's not required that we give it all away, however, just so that there are no more surprises, we can save ourselves from looking foolish to the company we are to be in within the coming days." Aojirotora's comments were met with nodding heads as everyone returned to the table, sitting a little closer to each other but in the same order. "Kibanhana, maybe you should begin since you did display your powers first." The blindfolded male had an assumption as to what the girl could do, but left it to her to actually inform everyone. Kibanhana looked at the male who sat slightly across from her, trying to gauge just how insightful the teen really was.

_I only used my ability once so far, and not even at it's best. This guy is already onto me about it…but, if he took that blindfold off…_

"My main abilities are, magnetic." The girl said deliberately, emphasizing what it is she can do. She sat in place for several seconds before raising her hands where she was. Nukarukuma was the only one to react to it as Kibanhana caused the kunai and shuriken in his backpack to move restlessly, as if they were boxed animals. "It takes a bit of chakra but I can even control flying objects she said. That's why your kunai was nothing to me when you threw it, Nu-kun." The girl added after putting her hands down. Her demonstration complete, she looked to the person beside her to carry on the conversation. Kurohone looked up from his downcast gaze to find that everyone's eyes were on him. He seemed to have shrunken in size upon seeing this, but regardless he fought the strong gazes and decided to begin.

"I-I am Kaguya Kurohone…" He began, keeping his hands folded in his lap. They looked fine from everyone else's point of view, but to Kurohone, he could feel the sweat that poured from them. He did his best to keep them from moving, hoping that the sweat would go away, but they continued to sweat. "My ability is bone ma-manipulation." He righted his seating position, getting ready to give a demonstration mainly for the two females but a hand shot out in front of him.

"I swear to god, Bones. Not now." Rinori said, causing Kurohone to cower and slouch.

"That's mean, let him show us." Kibanhana spoke out as she reached behind Rinori to grab him. Rinori pulled away, making sure his body was out of Kibanhana's reach.

"Suiyoseru!" After pulling back to form a hand seal, Kibanhana hand Rinori drawn to her almost instantly, laying a good punch to the back of his head.

_I didn't expect her to reveal the full potential of her ability right now. But now that I've seen it…she may prove to be an enormous asset._ Aojirotora thought as Rinori managed to pull away from Kibanhana. The girl kept a frown on her face as Rinori stood behind his seat. He looked them over.

"Setsuai Rinori. Kazengan is my ability. If that's not enough for you ask Blindy, Braids, or Bones. I'm leaving." It was apparent to the guys of the room that Rinori wasn't going to be the abused object. Kurohone looked to the orange-haired male's back as he walked away, fully aware of what that meant. There would be no one to talk to him.

"That's fine; we don't need him around anyways." Kibanhana burst, as she then turned to Kurohone, "Don't worry about the idiot. No one here's going to make fun of you Kurohone-kun." The girl's kind smile caught him off guard more than the fact that she spoke to him. Kurohone found himself simply staring at Kibanhana in surprise before he nodded in acknowledgement. Nukarukuma cleared his throat unnecessarily, returning the focus to himself.

"You guys are dragging this on a lot longer than it needs to be…that's annoying in case you didn't know." He said as they all looked to him.

"By saying that, you're wasting time yourself Nu-chan." Kibanhana pointed out.

"You're annoying. I should freeze and break you." Nukarukuma said as he then got up. "I'm gonna go join the other jackass, and wait outside for Kabuto-san." Nukarukuma said as he got up and walked away.

"Nukarukuma-kun, what about Akataka-san's abilities? Don't you want to know them?" Aojirotora asked the retreating male.

"I'll ask her later." The male said nonchalantly as he disappeared from view.

_So he is familiar with what Akataka can do._ Aojirotora figured as he faced the eyes that looked at him expectantly. He was quick to deliver so that the four could be on their way to meeting Kabuto.

"Where's the rest of them?" one of the Jounin that had been present during the meeting stood before Rinori, grilling him on everyone's whereabouts. The orange haired male didn't take to kindly to being bothered as he glared at the Jounin.

"Screw off." His growl countered the ordered barks of the Jounin rather effectively, provoking the stronger Jounin to raise a hand as if ready to smack Rinori. Surely, that was the likely course of action had Nukarukuma not shown up to interrupt the pointless interrogation.

"Their coming. Chill." Nukarukuma said as he casually made his way next to Rinori. He smiled at the Jounin, as if to provoke him into striking Rinori. The Jounin had the mind for it, but he controlled himself. Granted, he was likely to win, he just didn't know whether it was guaranteed with these two.

"Kansho." The ninja said with disgust.

"Nukarukuma, asshole." The darker ninja said rudely, causing the Jounin's right hand to begin to move towards his weapon. Just as he touched it, a hand fell on his shoulder.

"Nukarukuma-kun, that's not the way to speak to a superior." Kabuto smiled. It bothered everyone gathered, but probably the Jounin even more. "Right, Asano-san?" Kabuto's eyes moved from the braided ninja to the Jounin who became even more unsettled than anyone else present. Kabuto's gaze didn't carry the same weight as Orochimaru's but probably even more. With Orochimaru, it was always easy to figure out what he was likely to do, since he was so focussed on one thing. But, Kabuto was different. His nature was more sporadic, being nice and calm one moment to being near sadistic at others. It was his strongest aspect and he used it well given the power he now had.

"Right, Kabuto-sama." Asano quickly pulled away from the two Genin that had graced his presence, joining the last Jounin who was standing by the hideout entrance.

"Rinori-kun, Nukarukuma-kun…Kansho." Kabuto said, retaining his smile as he said those words. Despite liking Kurohone the most, together, he liked these two quite a bit. However, individually they didn't mean as much.

"Don't call me that." Rinori frowned increasing the distance from Nukarukuma whom he felt stood too close to him.

"I don't like it either." Nukarukuma said, however, he didn't appear to be affected by anything that had happened within the past few minutes. He managed to keep a rather calm appearance, which had Kabuto rather curious.

"You two may be quite a force together, but Asano-san is still quite a Jounin." Kabuto pointed out, hoping to get an understanding as to why the two of them weren't phased by the Jounin's intentions.

"Then he's the worst jou- HEY! Asano-baka! You shitty Jounin!" Rinori seemed to have been making a subtle comment until he called out to the Jounin to let the man know what he felt. Asano's face grew dark as he began to make his way towards Rinori but Kabuto raised a hand, representing a warning. Asano got the message rather quickly as he turned his back. He figured it was better to heed Kabuto's warning than face the man's anger.

"Ah. Here they are now." Kabuto said softly, taking note of the remaining four Genin. "No time to waste. Let us begin moving out. I will lead with the two Jounin, Kurohone-kun, Akataka-san and Kibanhana-san will be the middle group and the remaining ones shall carry the very back. I would like to keep a fair distance between us, but that may not be possible. So, Kibanhana's group can travel as close as they wish to my group, but Aojirotora's group must remain a mile away." Kabuto said. He left no room for questioning as he and his Jounin disappeared.

"See you in Konoha." Kibanhana waved as she disappeared after Kurohone and Akataka.

"You know what that means right?" Nukarukuma asked. Rinori made it clear that he didn't know. "We're expendable. If something goes down, we die and they'll be ready for it." He said. Aojirotora let out a small laugh as he watched Rinori's face grow with concern. He pat his friend on the back reassuringly.

"He is joking. Together we are closest in strength to the combination of Kabuto-san and his Jounin. That is all." Aojirotora said as he looked in the direction of their heading. Rinori's face turned to a frown quickly as he jabbed Nukarukuma in the shoulder.

"You frown too damn much." Nukarukuma said flatly. It didn't inspire Rinori to change his expression as he turned away, but something about Nukarukuma caught his eye, forcing him to look back at his partner.

"Hey, Nu-kun…where's the katanas you had?"

"I left them. Can't you see that?"

"Let's go." Aojirotora interrupted before the conversation between the other two had a chance to escalate into another pointless brawl. He was quick to put himself into a tree before dashing off. Nukarukuma came up behind him rather quickly with Rinori right on his tail.

"You two should stop arguing. It does not promote teamwork." His words were accepted as truth by both males, but neither one cared to have heard the Hyuuga's truth.

"You should stop giving us advice." Nukarukuma responded as he came up beside Aojirotora. The big grin on Nukarukuma's face managed to bother the normally relaxed Aojirotora just a bit as he turned away.

"It sucks." Rinori added as he appeared on Aojirotora's left.

"Anyways, I thought it would be a good time for me to tell you guys something that Kabuto-san told me when he freed me." Aojirotora's voice had gotten rather serious in tone, and both Rinori and Nukarukuma could see this on what little of his face was visible thanks to Aojirotora's mouth, which always appeared to get a little rigid when he got serious. It was as if by controlling the movements of his mouth, he was also controlling exactly how his words were spoken, in that they came out right.

"What did he say?" Rinori began, not even giving Aojirotora a chance to begin. This caused Nukarukuma to shake his head in disappointment. Both expected it to happen, since it was one of Rinori's habits, but they felt that it was really uncalled for, especially when things were getting serious. "He told me, that in the first month that we fell asleep in our prison cells, he had experiments done to us."

"That son of a bitch!"

"Motherfu-"

"Wait. Since we survived, it's not as bad as you think." Aojirotora interjected before Nukarukuma could finish his word. "The experiments began as simple test to check our condition. From what you may have noticed, it's the first week of being in the prison that really has an affect on us. Well, his test came back negativ-"

"Does that mean we had problems?!" Rinori screeched. He seemed a little panicked as he waited upon Aojirotora's answer.

_I can't believe this jackass is a ninja…_Nukarukuma could look at Rinori for even a moment without having a thought similar to Aojirotora.

"No, the opposite." Aojirotora said.

_Where's Kurohone when you need him…_Nukarukuma thought after Aojirotora cast aside Rinori's worry. They all sighed for different reasons as Aojirotora then continued. "After those results, Kabuto-san chose myself, you two, Kurohone, Akataka and Kibanhana as the first ninja's to bear his own curse seal." The words weighed down on each of them rather heavily, knowing full well what that entailed. Especially since the last curse seal they came across was the ones worn by the Sound Four, Kimimaro and Sasuke. Rinori's fist clenched tightly as he thought about what it really meant.

"So we have power that slowly eats away at us…?" He asked, unsure as to what exactly could happen to him should he end up using it.

"That should be the last of your worries since neither of us have been able to activate it. However, from what I was told, when we do activate it, we will not face such a situation. The Kabutomushi Juin as he calls it, increases chakra like the Juuin Jutsu but the sealing method aspect of this Jutsu seals away damage done to the user, effectively reversing damage received." Nukarukuma noticed that Aojirotora was having difficulty putting the words together in his explanation and the man was quick to follow up his explanation. "That is the best description I can give you two right now since Kabuto was in a rush to get things moving along. If you have time to look at yourselves later on, check the location between your first two celestial gates; you will find a feint bug-like mark. When the time comes for activation, the mark will become neon green as a fire-like pattern flows across your body, not unlike that of Sasuke-kun's curse seal." Aojirotora looked at both his partners, noticing as Rinori's right hand rubbed the location like a mother expecting a child.

"No one has activated their seals yet? What the hell does it take to do it?" Nukarukuma asked, as he ran through the trees, keeping pace with Aojirotora. Rinori lagged behind a bit as he considered what it would mean to activate his seal. The male quickly realized that he was getting behind before he upped the pace to keep up with his friends.

"Well, from what Kabuto-san told me, I am probably the closest to activating it. Then Kibanhana-san is next closest. Kurohone-kun and Akataka-san are next with you and Rinori-kun being last." The Hyuuga stated the order factually causing Rinori and Nukarukuma to do more than just frown.

"Why the hell am I last?! I probably train the hardest than everyone else here! I should be closest!" Rinori yelled, drawing a glare from Nukarukuma who was usually the one to train with Rinori more often than not.

"You should be happy to be last. To be the closest to activating the Kabutomushi Juin Fuujin means you are reaching your current peak. Therefore, unless I go through gruelling training, or am forced to undertake tough missions, my capabilities are going to stay at my current plateau. Basically, you and Nukarukuma have the greatest potential right now." Aojirotora said plainly. Rinori could see that Aojirotora didn't like what he had to say. This caused the orange hair to grin proudly before Aojirotora, in an attempt to push the Hyuuga's buttons but the attempt failed. Aojirotora wasn't going to let Rinori ever get on his nerves. "You shouldn't smile so proudly, Rinori-kun. You are still weaker than me." Aojirotora's intention of completely putting Rinori down worked pretty well as the Kazengan wielder's face turned depressed.

"Why didn't you tell us this while we were all seated at the table?" Nukarukuma took the opportunity to address Aojirotora's timing on telling them about the curse seals that could have gone unnoticed and unknown for a lot longer. Aojirotora gave a weak smile to Nukarukuma since he expected Nukarukuma to ask him a question that had more importance than anything Rinori could have possibly asked.

"Simple, Kabuto-san was still within the area. Especially with the new Jounin that were in the room when Kabuto-san was in the room. I wanted to make sure they were at least some distance away from us before I said anything." Aojirotora stated. Rinori made a raspberry rather quickly after Aojirotora spoke.

"He still knows you said something." With that statement, Nukarukuma and Aojirotora raised their eyebrows to each other, surprised that Rinori was able to see that.

"That is true, but I have only told you two. And I expect you two to keep it quiet for sometime. Kabuto planned on letting it surprise us to see how we respond to it, but that can be hazardous. I would like at least you two to remain aware of it so that, if it should pop up, you can see it coming and control it." Aojirotora's words came out rather rigidly causing Rinori to ask why this was so. Aojirotora sighed, knowing he couldn't evade Rinori's question because Nukarukuma was likely curious to want to know as well. "If you don't control it, it will have the same effect as Orochimaru's Juin Jutsu, which is to seek out the Jutsu creator. What happens after that, is unknown to me, regardless, I have no desire to see the end result." Aojirotora finished as his head turned to both Nukarukuma and Rinori.

"He loves us." Rinori said with a smile on his face. The words came out as a joke; one that he hoped would get Aojirotora to tell him to shut up.

"Of course he does…we're the closest thing to family that he's got." Nukarukuma pointed out. Rinori didn't expect the serious response from Nukarukuma but accepted it anyways. around him, Aojirotora and Kurohone, Rinori also felt as if they were his own brothers. Reciprocating was the least he could do for his odd family. Just as they all travelled feeling a level of peace that could only be felt within the presence of brothers, Aojirotora suddenly stopped in place. Rinori and Nukarukuma followed suit, looking at Aojirotora sternly as if he broke some unspoken male code.

"Don't stop so suddenly!" Rinori shrieked. It was met with an invisible glare as Aojirotora looked hard at Setsuai Rinori. Rinori proved to be rather receptive as he gave a weak smile as an apology. "What's going on ahead?"

"They stopped ahead of us. From what I can see, Kabuto-san stopped with Akataka-san's group."

"Does that mean they're taking a break? I could go for one right about now. We've been running for a while now." Rinori pointed out as he sat down on the branch he had been standing on. His feet dangled above Nukarukuma who remained standing on a branch below. Aojirotora turned to his left to give a nod to the male. Rinori caught the nod and quickly got to his feet. "Are you serious?"

"Yes…I didn't notice this before, but we must be quick about our approach. Something is happening to Kurohone and if it is what I think it is, we may be at a great disadvantage." Aojirotora said as he then blurred in a show of speed. Nukarukuma and Rinori were right behind him as they surged forward, never slowing down dashing within the trees. Being locked up for some time didn't seem to have had an effect on their tree running ability as neither one of them found themselves in danger of running right into a low lying branch or getting tired of their quickened approach.

"How long do you think it'll take before we get to them?" Nukarukuma asked as he swung within his hands onto a higher branch to put him on level with Aojirotora. Rinori took up the same action, feeling a need to be on level with his partner to better hear what they were talking about.

"It may take us a little too long if we slowdown even in the slightest, Nukarukuma-kun. The order Kabuto-san had for us to stay out a kilometre was a good idea, both for us, and him. Now that he has begun to attack Kurohone-kun, Akataka-san and Kibanhana-san, it is quite possible for those three to be killed in the time it takes us to arrive." Aojirotora said, letting sweat roll onto his blinding head protector, and getting absorbed into the piece. Rinori and Nukarukuma also seemed to sweat, however neither one of them were exhausted or hot. They were more concerned, especially for Kurohone who was in a situation where he could easily get killed.

"Fuck…I would've been better to stand in Kurohone's place." Nukarukuma's snarl was echoed in his friends minds as they felt they too could have been better suited to facing off against Kabuto. Kurohone was far too loyal to fight against Kabuto especially in a situation such as this one.

"I'd hate to say it, but, Kurohone's weak against Kabuto. He's probably going to side with him to kill the girls, then end up getting killed after that…we CAN'T let that happen!" Rinori's firm decision propelled him further ahead towards Kurohone.

"Didn't you hear what I said, Rinori-kun? Something is happening to Kurohone." Aojirotora said sternly, causing Rinori's head to turn around, face an angered mess.

"What is?!"

"I believe the curse seal…" the response had Aojirotora on edge, knowing what it meant for him to only 'believe' in a result. It meant he wasn't exactly right. For someone to fool his senses, that meant the person was of higher than average talent.

"Wait a minute, man. You said you were closest to getting it. How the hell does he have it-"

"I was misled." The Hyuuga cut in.

"Shit…"

"So what does that mean for Kurohone-kun?" Nukarukuma had decided to slow down a bit, realizing that the Kabutomushi Juin Fuujin made the situation a little more hectic. He wasn't really into rushing into a fight where Kurohone could have greater strength and on top of that, side with Kabuto. The male didn't have the logical thought to know why he would need to avoid rushing into a fight, but he had more than enough instinct to make up for what he lacked. Nukarukuma and Aojirotora didn't let Rinori's choice of action go unnoticed, slowing down themselves as a sign of approval for his decision. however, the actions taken by the Hyuuga and Shimoboon went unnoticed by Rinori.

"It means we may have to fight him."

"What's going on ahead now? Shouldn't we have made it to them yet?" Rinori asked, feeling as if he had already covered close to a kilometre.

"They have been moving the fight further…I don't understand how I didn't see this." Aojirotora's head was downcast as he felt shame for utilizing his abilities so poorly.

"We didn't see it either. Let it go." Nukarukuma assured as he too, failed to notice the various things that tipped them off about Kabuto.

"No…you misunderstand. That is not Kabuto-san." Aojirotora tensed up.

"What? You just said it is!" Rinori yelled once more as he found it hard to believe what Aojirotora said.

"This one's Henge is not normal. It is very good, in fact. For him to have eluded my Byakugan means he has perfected his Henge beyond what is common." Aojirotora said. He could now see that who appeared to be Kabuto was in fact another nameless Sound ninja. However, the greatest problem wasn't who was pretending to be Kabuto, but those that had accompanied him. "However, the other two are not using any form of disguise." He added solemnly.

"They're the same guys from before?"

"Yes."

"Good…now I can pummel that jackass for thinking me and Rinori are nothing. Ay, Rinori, you better have that Kazengan working real good. Gonna have half of him frozen, and the other half melted." Nukarukuma said anticipating what will happen to Asano.

"Kazengan is ready, but are you?" Rinori asked, forgetting about his anger from before. He had wanted to fight the enemy before, but wasn't able to. Now that they were discovered to be traitors, he was more than simply ready to causing some bodily harm. He was dying to do some damage.

"Nukarukuma-kun, Rinori-kun, they're just ahead. I propose that you two deal with the Jounin, and I will take care of the fake Kabuto-san." Aojirotora's assignments went uncontested, instead met with eager heads. "From what I see, Mugoireppuu Akataka and Kakkouii Kibanhana are still standing, but have received more than their share of damage." Aojirotora said.

"I don't care about that; just let me fight Asano-baka." Rinori demanded with vigour as he shook a ready fist that began to glow orange like his hair. Aojirotora smiled at the demand.

"If that is the case, you are teamed with Kibanhana-san."

"Good! You can take her. I'd be more likely to stomp her ass before touching Asano." Nukarukuma said with relief. He had to laugh after that as he looked at Rinori's distraught expression. He really wanted to mess Asano up, but with Kibanhana in the mix, he was concerned that his attacks would end up being wide in range.

"Do not be a fool and attack her, Rinori-kun." Aojirotora effectively axed Rinori's concerns as they then appeared in the clearing.

"Shit, Kurohone…" Rinori's wide-eyed statement had him focussed on his closest of friends. The beginnings of Kazengan disappeared from his recently prepared fist as he saw the pain within Kurohone. It was as if his brain had been swept clean of everything but pain, leaving human sounds and movement out of existence for him.

"Unnnhhh!" the guttural moan escaped Kurohone's mouth rather hoarsely as his head craned unnaturally to the company that had appeared from the woods behind him. Every shift in muscle, bone and blood vessel caused Kurohone's now solid black eyes to wince, letting blood seep from his tear ducts. Black bones protruded from his spinal cord, elbows, knees, and he even developed a tail of black bones.

"What happened to you…?" Rinori was in a state of shock as he stared at his friend. It wasn't caused by the fact that his bones were protruding but his expression. The male's voice was rather unstable as he looked as if he were going to break down right there and then.

"Ao-"

"I know." Just as Rinori was going to have Aojirotora do something about Kurohone's expression, the Hyuuga was in front of Kurohone with both palms pressed against the Kaguya's chest.

"I've never seen him in so much pain from his own bones…"Nukarukuma managed to get that out before he was forced evade an oncoming attack. Rinori had to move as well to avoid a rain of kunai from Asano's hands.

"What have you done, Hyuuga?" The voice came from the fake Kabuto who had gotten behind Aojirotora to place a kunai to the blindfolded male's throat.

"I knocked him out." Aojirotora said as he looked down at the spread-eagled Kurohone. The black bones receded along with a fiery green pattern.

"I suppose you shall be next." The man said as his blade came close to Aojirotora's throat.

"No..KAITEN!"

* * *

Before this goes any further, I'm going to point out, right now, Japanese is not my first, my second, third or any language I have even the least bit of knowledge on. However, I don't let that sway me. All attacks, all names and what not are in Japanese simply because that's what I want for this Fanfic. If anyone with better knowledge of the Japanese knowledge hates to see it get so brutally shamed, hit me up with some info or whatever you have to give and I'll address the language problems I got. Peace

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Kakkouii (Attractive) Kibanhana (Foundation Flower)

Mugoireppuu (Brutal Gale) Akataka (Red Hawk)

Kazengan – Lava

Suiyoseru – Attract

Kabutomushi Juin Fuujin – Rhinoceros Beetle Curse Seal Sealing Method

Kansho (Hot and Cold)-Teaming up Rinori and Nukarukuma resulted in this combined name for the two males. Rinori representing Hot, and Nukarukuma representing Cold, they are the greatest example of opposing elements working together. It also helps that they are hardly affected by the other's temperatures due to


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Naruto or anything made by Kishimoto (I think that's right). Other than that, original characters, some location names and plenty of Jutsu are my own making. Do not copy or steal those. Enjoy

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UNSCHEDULED DEPARTURES

* * *

"Who do you think you ninjas are, approaching this village wearing those things on your head?" The question was barked for Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha had little patience for those who are unaware of their reactions. Nukarukuma was first to react, grabbing his bloodied headband. The Hokage, with all of her ninja skills did not need to watch Nukarukuma to be aware of what the young male was doing. With several yanks, Nukarukuma had rid himself of the head piece, casting it aside right at Tsunade's feet.

"Let me be the first to toss that shit aside." His words were far more defiant than they sounded, not wanting to go overboard on the rudeness in front of THE Hokage. Tsunade raised an eyebrow from her position in front of her massive desk, casting a gaze on just about everyone else there. Each and everyone grabbed their headbands and tore them away. Their allegiance with Sound had been on ice ever since they were thrown in jail and remained that way even after being freed. There was not one person there that had their doubts of the northern ninja village. The event that took place as they headed for Konoha solidified their doubts. Tsunade was well aware of the fact that Kabuto and eight other ninjas would make their way to Konoha in three days.

"We didn't have time to think about our apparel. The situation didn't grant us time for thinking rationally." Aojirotora spoke up admitting that even he didn't realize what was going on. Tsunade's eyebrow was only raised further as Aojirotora spoke. She looked the male over for the millionth time, disbelief striking her every time that she did.

"I wouldn't expect that from you." She had no knowledge of their names considering the rush they were in as they evaded even the skilled guards of the village. Aojirotora, now able to think understood exactly what she was saying, frowning in response to the high standards the woman had already plastered upon him.

"That's Aojirotora, he's a-"

"I know what he is! Who the hell are the rest of you?" Tsunade's snarl towards Rinori had him straighten up like a soldier being spoken to by his General. He couldn't control the reaction, thinking to himself that that was an indirect reaction towards his constant gazing at her features. "He's the only one who could possibly have any business hanging around here, while the rest of you can be viewed as missing-nin." The continued conversation had Kibanhana falling to her knees, unable to stand up any longer. Rinori was first to look at the girl, helping her up since she was next to him and no one else was next to her. Rinori threw an animal's glare at Tsunade causing her to return an equal glare at him.

"Let her see a doctor damn it!" The demand was left to hang in the air while Tsunade quickly analyzed Kibanhana. She then lifted her hands off her desk, folding them as she leaned forward.

"She's fine. Mor-"

"She's not fine! Are friggin' blind?! Look at the ga-!" Everyone was taken by surprise, including the silent Shizune who'd been at the side of the desk the entire time. Tsunade had lunged at Rinori, grabbing him by the collar as she shoved him back. The brute strength and the startling speed caused Kibanhana to be released, falling to the floor as Tsunade drove Rinori right through the wall behind him.

"Learn some respect before I'm forced to pound it into you."

"If we were your enemies we would have killed a few people to kill you." Rinori just managed to muster a few words as he felt an increasing pressure upon his throat thanks to Tsunade's hand.

"Spies don't need to kill people to get the job done. Assassins don't either. I'm low on patience right now, you can thank the Sound Soldier uniform those girls are wearing, and the Sound head protectors all of you came with, as if there was something to be proud of in that slimy village." Tsunade spoke with a voice full of malice, but Rinori resisted. No one else seemed willing to speak their mind other than Rinori who had malice of his own to counter with.

"Look at our bodies. Assassins and spies don't get hurt on the job. Get it through you-"

"Rinori!" Nukarukuma turned looked to the surprisingly powerful voice that came from Aojirotora. He didn't need to say much for him to be understood. Almost instantly, Rinori swallowed the words that wanted to come out, looking away from Tsunade's eyes as she then released him, letting his already wounded body to fall into a clump against the wall. His eyes remained directed at the floor not wanting to look back at the crowd that had gathered outside of the Hokage's office, or at his comrades that had arrived with him.

"All of you, get back to what you came here to do!" the demand was taken more as a threat as those that had gathered, scattered quickly, filing into nearby rooms or going for the exit, not wanting to feel what Rinori had just felt.

"Shizune, could you look after that girl." The finger pointed to the one on the floor, as if she were a disgusting foreign object. For those who caught the expression on her face, it would be hard to disprove such a thought even though Tsunade spoke kindly towards Shizune. The short haired woman quickly stepped towards Kibanhana, picking helping her up.

"Don't do anything you'll regret. I am still a ninja." The threat was there, but Shizune covered it up better than Tsunade could ever have hoped. Kibanhana was promptly removed from the office as Tsunade then stepped back in taking a seat at her desk. She pulled out a bottle of what could only be sake, forgoing the glass and drinking it straight. Rubbing her temples shortly after setting the bottle down, she then clasped her hands in front of her face before looking up.

"Names; starting with you." She was looking directly at Akataka who was slightly started at being chosen first. Aojirotora was on her left and the first person as far as she was concerned. A nudge from Nukarukuma got her away from her thoughts as she spoke out.

"Mugoireppuu Akataka." Speaking in a small voice, she let her name be known to Tsunade whose eyes rolled over to Nukarukuma. Her eyes seemed to twinkle slightly as she recalled him being the first to toss aside his Sound headband. She knew it could all be an elaborate plot for destroying Konoha, especially considering the trouble they went through to get so injured, but regardless she approved of the gesture and the fact that Nukarukuma referred to his headband as 'shit'. She promised never to forget that.

"Shimoboon Nukarukuma." His voice was level, not confident per se, but strong enough to front it. Tsunade's eyes didn't leave Nukarukuma as she separated her hands temporarily to point to the ground.

"Nukarukuma-kun, who was the other girl?" She clasped her hands once again, as Nukarukuma took a moment to think. Aojirotora's mouth was opening but then Tsunade raised her right hand, signalling the Hyuuga to keep his words to himself.

"Kakkouii Kibanhana." Nukarukuma didn't take too long to answer the question, but his hesitation, taken to recall the family name didn't go unnoticed. He frowned upon himself for forgetting something so simple, but had to straighten his face quickly, not wanting Tsunade to make any negative assumptions from his expression.

"Hey, come in here." Tsunade threw her voice to Rinori who had remained outside slumped against the wall. Rinori remained unmoving even as Tsunade stood up at her desk.

"Nukarukuma, what's his name?" She asked.

"Setsuai Rinori." Everyone caught Tsunade's eyebrow twitch just as Nukarukuma said Rinori's family name. They didn't know why she did it, but it helped as Tsunade sat back down.

"Why is he like that, and where is the other Genin that was supposed to arrive?" Tsunade sent a loaded question at the group, but luckily it was one that resulted in one answer. Aojirotora volunteered taking centre stage as he replied.

"Rinori-kun is like that because of where the other Genin is. Kaguya Kurohone was apart of our team, and also Rinori's best friend out of all of us present, however we suffered a planned attack which resulted in losing Kurohone. We nearly lost Kibanhana, but we managed to pull Rinori off of an enemy's body and escaped." The summary provided by Aojirotora explained some of the questions the Hokage had for the five people present, but it still required some explaining.

"Pull him off of an enemy?"

"Yes. Half of the blood that is on him, is not his own. Of the six opponents that ambushed us, Rinori was the only one to cause fatal damage. Any other damage done was to us. Thankfully, despite Kibanhana's injuries, she was able to keep the opponents at bay while we made a run for this village. Even though we headed this way, after receiving a traitorous attack, we were unsure of how welcomed we would be. Thankfully, Kibanhana still had strength within her to keep those doubts aside long enough until we were in your presence."

"How did she do it?"

"I'm sorry Tsunade-sama. It is not my place to speak of her since I do not know her well enough." Aojirotora's apology was accompanied by a courteous bow. Tsunade didn't like that he wouldn't tell, but respected it enough to move on.

"Where are Kabuto and the two Jounin that were t arrive with you Genin?" Her hand was reaching for the sake once more, but suddenly Shizune appeared through the hole Rinori had been driven through, causing the Hokage to fumble with the bottle as she shoved it into the desk drawer, slamming it rather violently. "Shit!" the unexpected sound of shattering glass was followed by the expected cuss as Shizune shook her head in disappointment. She crossed her arms, to make the disappointment easily understood to the Hokage, who seemed humble in Shizune's presence.

"Serves you right Tsunade-sama you shouldn't be drinking on the job!" The scolding drew a few confused looks from the Genin as the powerful Hokage was putting on her best apologetic face as possible. "I came to tell you that the girl-"

"Kakkouii Kibanhana." Tsunade's interjection was meant to simply show Shizune that she was still on top of things even though she drank, but Aojirotora took it as a sign that she didn't forget things very easily.

"Yes, Kibanhana-san is stable right now." Shizune took the correction as she finished her sentence, receiving a nod from Tsunade before leaving the room. Tsunade's eyes followed Shizune, landing on Rinori once more. As she looked at him, she started feeling an annoying tug within her mind, trying to get her to do something. She fought valiantly, resisting the annoying urge but even the best of the best can't help but given in once in a while. She got up, walking over to the downed shinobi, taking her time as she let loose some mutterings that were obviously more cuss words. As she got to Rinori, she stopped in front of him, looking down at the teenager.

"Get up."

"…"

"Get up Rinori-kun." Her initial voice was stern and demanding but now, the act of including his name into her request softened up her tone, which she didn't like at all. However, it did work well as Rinori pushed himself off of the ground slowly. His actions seemed laboured, believably so due to the heavy heart he had. Tsunade looked at him, realizing that many people have simply come close to loosing someone, but broke down regardless. But here Rinori was, and he lost someone who meant something to him, so what he felt must have been immeasurable. Having gone through losses twice, Tsunade had more than an idea as to what Rinori felt, which was why her response came suddenly. Her arms had wrapped around Rinori. She expected a resistance.

"Get off of me! I don't want to be hugged! Get leave me alone you hag. I was happier…when…" His resistance was short-lived, being too close to Tsunade to push off of her, being unable to rid himself of her comforting. "Kuro…" the whisper that followed was all that needed to be said for Nukarukuma to look away, dropping into a seated position, doing his best to stifle his own crying, but letting out short gasps as the flowing tears of Rinori got to him along with the memory of Kurohone. Aojirotora's hands pulled down on his blind fold, allowing him to remove the tears that had gathered at his eyes. Even the hardened shinobi within the area felt some sympathy, for the entire floor was drenched in sadness. Akataka, had fallen next to Nukarukuma, doing what she could to comfort the dark ninja, but like him, she too had given in to the emotions being expressed by her partners.

0

"Tsunade-sama, what are we going to do with them?" It had been hours since Tsunade had given in to her better judgement and hugged Rinori. She was now faced with a decision that had already been decided but involved some detailed work.

"Shizune, he reminds me of him. It's subtle but Rinori reminds me o-"

"Tsunade-baachan! What happened?! I heard everyone was crying in here! What did you do?!" The energetic disturbance drew two glares; Shizune's and Tsunade's.

"Him."

"Me?"

"Naruto-baka! I told you not to barge into Tsunade-sama's office!" The pink haired girl that came to the left threw a right, sending Naruto into the wall.

"Sakura-san, why didn't he go through the wall?"

"Sai this is Tsunade's office. Sakura's careful to cause minimal damage here."

"Oh."

"Sakura-chaaan that hurt!"

"Ahem." Tsunade cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention before any thing more time consuming could take place. "I see you've returned. How did the mission go?"

"It went well, Tsunade-sama, but Naruto came close to beating the one who hired us; it was something about looking down upon others. We came very close to failing the mission, but we managed to make it into a success." Yamato spoke, holding a hand in front of Naruto just to let him know that an outburst wouldn't do in a mission report.

"Naruto…" The Hokage let a low growl escape her lips; she didn't have any words prepared to accompany the male's name, instead letting her tone do the work for her. She had to sigh after that, rubbing her forehead as her free hand unconsciously reached for her drawer, opening it up and reaching for her sake bottle.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune caught the actions, alerting the Hokage into the realization that she had destroyed her drink. The woman could only help but get even more agitated as she looked up, trying her best to regain her composure.

"Tsunade-baachan drinks at work!" the decision to point out the obvious didn't do any good for Naruto as Sakura struck him once more, causing him to break through the wall Sakura had punched him into earlier. The situation proved to be rather grim for him, as he decided to stay where he was on the ground.

"What an idiot. Doesn't he realize he will get hit?" Sai's question was rather sincere, causing him to receive a look from Sakura, which captured her confusion as to whether Sai had any observational skills himself. The attention was brought back to Tsunade as she impatiently tapped her fingers on her desk until even Naruto returned, unwisely standing next to Sakura again.

"I was going to let you four have a short break before your next mission, but an unexpected turn of events has forced me to change my plans. We've received a few new ninjas a several hours ago and I would like for you four to watch over them for now." They are down in the basement right now, under temporary care of several Chuunin guards." Tsunade waved the group off, wanting them to get on with their task but while the more mature people of the team turned around and began to walk away, one remained standing in place, before stepping forward to the Hokage's desk, slamming his hands upon the deep brown wood of the desk.

"Another low rank mission?! Why can't you give us a better mission? What is this one going to be? D-rank? Come on Tsunade-ba-"

"I figured you would be the most interested in performing this mission more than anyone else in this village, considering where they have come from." Tsunade raised her voice over Naruto's, however she didn't yell at him. Lord knows that yelling never worked with the male.

"Where they are coming from? Where do they come from?" Naruto was apprehensive about what Tsunade's words could mean, especially since she didn't yell at him for his slight outburst. From what little memories he could recall of his conversations with the woman, usually when she decided against yelling at him, it meant there was something beneficial to him. He frowned unsatisfied with the thinking he began doing before turning tail and heading out along with Sai, Sakura and Yamato.

"If you really want to know the answer to that, don't leave but go downstairs and ask them." Tsunade spoke to the orange-clad ninja's back. The simple fact that it was a mission guaranteed that he would do it despite the fact that he was completely against low rank missions like this one. He was more enthusiastic about the high rank missions, and to his credit, he did fairly well in them. However, it was risky allowing him to go into those types of missions. Often times he was not only accompanied by his team, but maybe one or more teams came along due to the fact that the ninja was a target. Akatsuki held no shame in targeting young ninjas who've had a troubling life thanks to the secret ninja techniques that were a last resort in saving the lands.

0

"Caged."

"It'll do for now. At least were together and not likely to face any dangers down here." Aojirotora was least disturbed by his current predicament of being imprisoned along with his four companions. His response to Nukarukuma drew the worst of stares from just about everyone else considering the fact that just a week earlier, they were all locked up in the Sound village without a hope of escape. Chances were that an effort made to escape would lead to certain death during the time, and it wasn't too farfetched to think that the same would happen here. The Leaf village was full of ninjas who despised the Sound village, the place they fled. They made some major attempts at convincing the Hokage that they were no longer allied with the nation, however their current location was a good enough answer to their efforts. They were still considered enemies, but not the most dangerous. Given the chance, Nukarukuma would love to prove how dangerous he could be since the Hokage took advantage of their situation to have them placed in a cage instead of a guarded hotel of some sort.

"I don't want to be in here. It's gross and those guards are behind a DOOR. This isn't even a normal cell. That door is made of iron." Kibanhana was now much better, but her chakra was next to depleted. The cell they had been shoved into –literally- was the usual metal bars and all, but the walls were reinforced with concrete and the door featured iron reinforcement. It was a secured location even without the guards because of the sealing Jutsu plastered to the outside of the door which regulated chakra. It limited the ninjas to staying seated and keeping their movements to a minimum, otherwise they'd be subject to having their chakra drained rapidly until unconscious. It was a rather strong method of subduing ninjas that had already been established as being no threat.

"That's what pisses me off. We aren't dangerous to anyone, but we're locked up in this bullshit because they thi-"

"Hey in there, shut up! You're in jail." A Chuunin's voice was surprisingly audible from behind the cell reinforcements and caused they cell mates to mutter a few choice derogatory words about the ninja amongst themselves.

"If that door opens up, I'm ready to walk out and talk to that damn Hokage again." Rinori spoke up for the first time in a short while. He still was hurt from his loss, but slowly, he was coming around to being his normal self. His companions looked at him, pleased to see that he was still 'alive' within himself.

"Are they in here?" the muffled question was picked up by those that remained attentive to what was going on, on the other side of the iron doors. Aojirotora, being as skilled as he was easily sustained his Byakugan behind his blindfold throughout the ordeal and took a look at those that had gathered behind the doors. He twitched at what he saw, not out of surprise but because of the person he recognized.

"I remember hearing one of Sasuke-kun's conversations with someone; a rare occasion considering how quiet he remained, and how Orochimaru kept him from the rest of us. He spoke of one of his former teammates, a ninja of his age who constantly wore orange. He spoke in detail of his inability to be a normal ninja, due in part to his attire. But he did point out how much energy the ninja had." The sudden change in conversation topic drew confused looks from everyone, unfamiliar with whom Sasuke had been affiliated with.

"What the hell are you talking about, man?" Nukarukuma wasn't the only one who couldn't follow where Aojirotora's conversation was going but he was the only one who chose to voice his inability to understand the Hyuuga's ramblings. The blindfolded male didn't answer his companion immediately, instead remaining silent with his head facing the iron doors. It would be only seconds before everyone began to get annoyed with Aojirotora's silence but just as someone was about to say something, the iron reinforced door slowly creaked open a bit. Everyone's eyes were now focussed on the small opening that would only allow for something the size of a basketball to pass through. A blond head peaked through looking into the room before focussing on the people that had gathered on centre. The blue eyes analyzed each and everyone in there before pulling back, leaving the door as it is.

"These are the people we have to watch? I can beat them all with my eyes closed." Naruto's challenge didn't go unheard as Rinori was the first to get up, dashing at the door with the little energy he had. Aojirotora had noticed that by the pace Rinori took off with, he wasn't loosing any energy which meant the room's spell only worked with the door closed; completing the spell in the process. Rinori got to the door in time, yanking it open as best as he could. The angry orange haired male was met with two fists; one for each of the guarding Chuunin before the door was slammed shut, reinstating the room's spell.

"Assholes…let us out!" Rinori shouted from the ground.

"This is annoying." Akataka pointed out after spending most of the day silent. She was stared at, before a light-hearted laughter overtook the room. A slight nudge from Nukarukuma who was nearest to her had her wobbling on the bench seat edge she sat on.

"No shit. Even he could figure that out." Nukarukuma's hand pointed at the male who remained on the ground after being punched. The orange hair spun around to throw a glare at Nukarukuma who simply kept up a smirk plastered on his face. Rinori turned to his right instinctively as if Kurohone remained there, but the fact that the shorter ninja wasn't present dampened his raised spirits. Everyone else caught this and felt a similar effect as the laughter died out almost immediately. However, the silence wouldn't last very long as the cell was opened up, this time by a Jounin who had Naruto and his partners behind him.

"Whoa. A Hyuuga." Yamato spoke, realizing one of the outsiders wasn't supposed to be an outsider.

"Where?"

"The one with the blindfold, idiot." Was Sakura's response to Naruto's lack of observational skills.

"You for come with me, but you will wait until someone comes to pick you up." Yamato quickly began as if they were his own underlings. Aojirotora didn't need an explanation as to why he would remain but that was him.

"Why the hell isn't he coming with us? He's apart of our tea-"

"No, he's apart of the Hyuuga Clan, and because of that, they will deal with him. But the rest of you are ours now. We do as we please with you, so come on. You'll be getting used as soon as possible. And while were at it, you'll be losing those ugly Sound village clothes." Yamato's instruction had Nukarukuma, Rinori, Akataka and Kibanhana rising from their seating positions and walking towards the door, stopping in front of the ANBU turned Jounin sensei. "You can call me Yamato; this is Naruto, Sakura and Sai." Each of the younger ninja's looked at each other, bowing respectfully or shaking hands.

"I'm Kakkouii Kibanhana, this is my best friend Mugoireppuu Akataka, that's Rinori and this is Nukarukuma. The brown haired female said, grabbing at her camouflage collar, ready to have it removed. Akataka smiled gave a small bow to each and everyone one of Yamato's students before being pushed aside by Rinori who got in Kibanhana's face rather quickly.

"That's?! You say that like I'm worth nothing. I was the one who stayed behind and protected you while yo-" The rant went incomplete as Kibanhana's knee nestled between Rinori's legs, causing his face to go red before hitting the floor. A long drawn out moan escaped his voice as the guys of the room, except Sai, favoured their southern regions.

"That's mean…I don't even do that to Naruto." Sakura said to herself. Her voice didn't go unheard as the one she spoke of looked at her, recalling a few incidents where he had been put in the same position as Rinori.

"I can introduce myself." Nukarukuma spoke plainly as he bent down, grabbing hold of Rinori, and helped him to his wobbly feet. The glare that escaped his eyes was lethal, but Kibanhana fought it off by not even looking at him.

"Well…" At a loss for words, Yamato didn't expect to see another team fighting amongst each other in the way that his did, but then again, if that was the way they were he hoped at least they had similar skills.

"Shimoboon Nukarukuma and this is my good friend Setsuai Rinori. He's a little hard headed so- a lot of the times so it might take a while before you can really say you like this bastard." The chummy expression on Nukarukuma's face wasn't approved by Rinori who maintained his glare, throwing it at Nukarukuma. "What..?"

"I'm not hard headed, asshole. She is…hard kneed." Rinori let out the one thing he hoped would give him some pain relief but to no avail. His efforts worked against him, leading to more than a few snickers to escape some mouths. He frowned at it since that was all he could do. They turned to Aojirotora who remained where he was, unmoving and unspeaking; releasing Rinori, Nukarukuma went over to the one person he could honestly consider his best friend, giving him more than the average hand shake before patting him on the back.

"Wherever you go, and whatever you do, man…remember we're still a team and family...that's my word." Rinori saw the exchange, feeling a little guilty that he didn't take the initiative to make a proper departure from Aojirotora, especially considering the last unscheduled departure he had. The male swallowed his pain, walking over to Aojirotora and touched fists with him.

"Ao-chan, don't die on us." The words that Rinori spoke were gentle and heartfelt as he held his fist against Aojirotora's. The Hyuuga nodded in response to Rinori. The orange haired male then pulled away, joining the leaving crowd. Kibanhana and Akataka turned around for a short second as they left to wave 'bye' to Aojirotora. Though they were not familiar with him enough, they were sure of the fact that he was strong and no matter what they would see him again. Their leaving was only a temporary thing.

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_So, now is suppose I am expected to wait here until someone from my clan can come and retrieve me. Retrieve me…I suppose I am nothing more than an object that needs to be retrieved. Surely no one there hopes to see me. In fact, it would not be far from the truth to say that I have been forgotten up until now. Of those that have heard of my return, I'm sure at least half of them are denying my existence right now. They wish the other Branch House member does not exist; the one who was born out of wedlock; the bastard of the Hyuuga family. I may not have been around to hear those words, but I am well aware that they floated about for sometime. It would be in their best interest not to look down upon me…they have already abandoned me, so I am not bound by their law or their beliefs no longer._ Aojirotora's thoughts came out in a constant stream the moment his Byakugan could not see anyone that had been with him. He was certain of his thoughts, even though he was not around to be apart of the Hyuuga family. A lot of his knowledge was simply 'word of mouth', but despite the rumours, deep within him that Hyuuga blood that flowed constantly sustaining his existence, confirmed these so called rumours to be true. It was only the fact that he wasn't able to witness it that he felt he could easily disassociate himself from his family. He would have gone on thinking about but that plan was axed as the iron reinforced doors swung open.

"The traitor!" Hiashi. The head of the Hyuuga Clan stood at the door, along with Tsunade. The man's hair was kept combed back, looking as neat as his white kimono despite his temperament being that of an infuriated beast. "How dare you return here after discarding your family!" The man stepped forward until he was only a metre away from Aojirotora. "Shiroto-"

"I do not go by that name." Aojirotora spoke solemnly. His head never turned up towards Hiashi causing the need for the Hyuuga head to combat himself from striking the lesser Hyuuga in front of Tsunade.

"Then what blasphemous name do you go by now?! You've already desecrated the Clan by living outside of it. Do you think there is a hope in the world that you will exist ne-"

"Hiashi-san." The stern call from Tsunade called the man to attention, leading him to forcefully restrain himself. "He will exist for as long as I wish. You aren't here to bring him any harm." Tsunade informed. Hiashi reluctantly nodded and bowed after turning to look directly at his Hokage. His gaze then returned to Aojirotora, his face less angered as he bottled up his fury.

"My name is Aojirotora." The simple name caused Hiashi to flinch. The name was similar to what it originally was, but that wasn't good enough. Even to be considered a proper Hyuuga, he would have had to have his name remain the same.

"What brought forth this ridiculous change in name?"

"My rebirth."

"Your rebirth? So you've decided to spew even more nonsense."

"Will both of you carry this argument elsewhere? I still have some business to attend to and I'm not interested in mediating this anymore." Tsunade broke the two males from their quarrel, leading to Aojirotora rising from his seat.

"We will continue this on Hyuuga grounds."

"And I expect him to be alive on those grounds. I expect to see him back soon with an update on what role he will play within the Clan. I do plan on using him as much as I use the other four." Tsunade said as she turned around, leaving Hyuuga Hiashi to lead Aojirotora out of the jail cell.

"You better keep up. I have no intention of slowing down." Hiashi spoke coldly as he then made his way up the stairs.

"Don't talk down to me." Aojirotora's words were a command, not a request. Hiashi turned to look at him. The older male's hand ended up being held by Aojirotora next to his left cheek.

"Hiashi, I've lived a life less protective than you have in this village. It is not my style to speak rudely, but I will kill you if you decide to force me to do so. Do not let this blindfold fool you…I'm ready to fight every millisecond that passes." The calm threat crawled into Hiashi's ears, burrowing under his skin from there and crawling about his body. The relaxed look of the facial features the old man could see let him know that Aojirotora wasn't making an idle threat.

_This boy thinks to threaten me? I command the entire Hyuuga Clan. One delinquent, broken off Clan member has no power over me!_ The man had to use his thoughts to reassure himself of his status. Having his hand released by Aojirotora, instead of him forcefully freeing himself left an unsettling feeling within his body as he turned around, and continued to lead the way out.

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YYYEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! Finally done this chapter. My first version of it included the battle that was about to begin in the last chapter (I had a good 3 to 4 pages of it too) but then I got too lazy and decided to restart. In this redo, I tried out a little emotion. I won't make the argument that it's the best; instead I'll leave that to the reviewers. Hope it was good overall. Til' the next one, PEACE. 


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